


The Small Problem

by Crystara



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Fluff, Loneliness
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-23
Updated: 2019-06-10
Packaged: 2020-01-24 14:32:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18573415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crystara/pseuds/Crystara
Summary: On a quiet lonely night, what was that noise in the kitchen?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> From Tumblr @wewritevictuuri weekly prompt: we may have a slight problem.

Victor walks into the apartment, hanging up his coat and keys on the rack next to the door and placing his shoes on the mat he’d purchased when Yuuri moved in. “Tadai..” his voice trails off as he remembers and his smile falls away. 

He lets out a low whistle and listens for the click of toenails heading his way from the bedroom.

He kneels down to ruffle Makkachin’s ears as she gives a swipe of her tongue across his face. “Hey baby girl, ready for your dinner?” he murmurs. She boofs and turns to wander toward the kitchen, Victor following behind frowning at the small hitch in her gait. Yuuri had pointed it out before he left and now Victor can’t unsee it. He’s going to have to get her to the vet soon, but that’s always such a struggle and he hates to upset her if he doesn’t have to.

After feeding Makkachin and pulling some leftovers out of the fridge for himself, Victor sits on the couch and slowly looks around apartment. It’s so very empty without Yuuri. Victor flips on the TV and settles back with some background show on just to make noise. 

Victor has just finished his supper and started to pull his notebook out to work on programs when there is a crash in the kitchen. Makkachin looks over and snorts, but doesn’t get up from her spot on the couch. Victor raises an eyebrow, but someone needs to go see what happened so he gets up and heads that way. Makka’s lack of concern has Victor relaxed so it’s more of a stroll into the kitchen. At least until he gets there and sees half the pantry dumped out on the floor.

“WHAT?!?” he exclaims. 

From inside the pantry a panicked, “Po!” replies.

Victor scrambles over to the pantry, shoving cans out of the way with his feet. He peers into the open door and spots something moving. His first thought is “Rat!” and he thinks about climbing on top of the counter, but the noise was definitely not a squeak and Makka hates rodents so she’d be in there with him if it was a rat. It’s way too big to be a mouse, and again Makka isn’t reacting. Victor clutches his shirt and pushes a big can of tomato sauce out of the way of where he’d seen the movement.

There it is! There what is? Victor tilts his head to the side and taps his lip as he looks at the back of the small animal hiding in the corner of the pantry. He can see two tiny white paws, a black tipped tail which is curled towards its owner, a blue shirt and the back of a head covered with dark brown hair and a hat with black ears sticking off of it. 

“What.. what are you?” Victor says as the small figure huddles further into the corner. Victor’s heart is beating hard, but the little one is shivering in fear so Victor sits down on the kitchen floor and makes a soothing noises. For some reason, and maybe just because the little one reminds him of Yuuri from the back, Victor knows he isn’t in an danger from the animal. Whatever it is.

A small voice cries, “Po,” and Victor’s eyes start to shine.

“Oh little one, I hope you can understand me. It’s okay little one. Shh.. shh.. Shh,” Victor croons. 

The tiny head turns and one brown eye with blue glasses peeks up at Victor. “Po?” it quavers.

Victor slowly reaches a hand in, palm open and up so the little one can sniff him. He gasps as the creature puts out a paw and shakes his finger with a serious expression on its face. Victor is overcome as he takes in how much the little one looks like his Yuuri.

“Po,” the little one states firmly as it looks up at Victor and tilts its head to one side, “Po, Pocha.”

“Oh! Oh, I’m Victor,” he replies, recognizing an introduction when he hears one. The small creature nods and a bright smile lights up its face. Victor’s heart melts under the sheer force of adorable in front of him.

“What are you doing in my pantry Pocha?” he asks.

“Po.. po po pocha,” comes the reply as Pocha rubs its stomach. 

“Oh! You’re hungry? Come over here,” Victor says as he stands up and opens the refrigerator door.

“Pocha.. Po,” Pocha breathes out as he stares reverently up at the open door and all the food inside. He dives forward and lands in the middle of the shelf, grabbing at a cupcake and stuffing it in his mouth, “Po, po, po” sounds coming out as he munches away.

Victor laughs helplessly. He digs various food items out of bins and offers them to Pocha. He pulls Pocha back out of the fridge before his little paws can get cold and sets him up on the counter to try things. Pocha seems to like sweets and does okay with vegetables, but when Victor pulls out an onigiri that Yuuri had left behind, his eyes light up and a string of urgent “Po’s” fall out of his mouth. Victor hands over the onigiri and giggles as Pocha wolfs it down with his tail whipping back and forth frantically.

“Po?”

“Sorry Pocha, that was the only one I have left.”

“Po po po,” Pocha states sadly, shaking his head back and forth. His eyes are just like Yuuri’s as he looks up at Victor pleadingly, large tears forming at the corners.

Victor reaches into his back pocket and pulls out his phone hitting the recent calls button.

“Moshi moshi,” comes the clear voice on the other end.

“Yuuri, we may have a slight problem. Can you pick up the supplies to make more onigiri on your way home?” Victor responds, not taking his eyes off the tiny figure in front of him.

“Sure, but what’s happened,” Yuuri responds.

“You’ll see when you get here. It’s a surprise.”

Just before Yuuri hangs up, he hears a small voice say “Po!” through Victor’s phone. Yuuri stares at the phone before hustling out of the rink and down the block to the store. He needs to get home.


	2. The Next Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Why is Pochayuuri so sad?

Victor wakes up slowly. He feels his husband snuggled up against his back, arms wrapped around his waist and little puffs of air against the back of his neck. Victor smiles and snuggles down into his pillow with a little wiggle. “Five more minutes,” he thinks to himself. The sudden presence of a cold, wet nose shoved against his face and a broad tongue licking up his cheek startles him into full wakefulness, just as it has done for the last thirteen years.

“Makka,” he quietly groans, “really?” The thump thump of her tail against the floor causes him to re-open his eyes. He looks over at her and grins before suddenly shooting up in bed as the memory of last night floods back into his mind. He gasps and tumbles out of the bed, waking Yuuri up in the process. 

“Wha.. wha happen’d,” Yuuri mumbles as he blinks down at Victor sitting on the floor next to a happily snuffling Makkachin. 

Victor starts to scramble to his feet. “Pocha,” he exclaims as he looks around the room, trying to locate their little visitor. 

Yuuri’s eyes blink wide and he turns over to jam his glasses on his face before scrambling out the other side of the bed and bending over to peer under it. “Not here,” he states.

Victor buries his hand in Makkachin’s fur to calm her down. He walks with her to the open door and reaches back to grasp Yuuri’s hand as they head into the living room and kitchen area. Surely the little one won’t have disappeared already? Victor can feel his heart rate pick up as they move down the hallway together. When they reach the living room they both quickly spot the small figure standing on one of their window sills. His paws and nose are pushed against the glass.

“Pocha?” Victor queries as they all move towards him, Makkachin sniffing the air and letting out a small whine.

“Po,” comes the reply as Pochayuuri turns his face just enough to look over his shoulder at Victor and Yuuri. They are horrified to see fat tears rolling down Pocha’s face and they scramble across the living room, landing on their knees next to him. Victor’s hands flutter in the air, unsure if the puppy is hurt or how to help. Beside him Yuuri makes a soft cooing noise and reaches out to Pocha slowly, giving him a chance to back away. Instead, Pocha jumps forward grabbing onto Yuuri’s shoulders in a tight, if small, hug. Yuuri sinks down onto the ground and pulls Victor closer as well turning everyone into a cuddle pile as they attempt to console the sobbing puppy.

“Po, po po po po,” pours into the air as the tiny figure shakes in Yuuri’s arms. Yuuri and Victor look at each other hopelessly as neither has any idea what to do. Makkachin whines and shoves her nose against the puppy, bumping him and startling him into a soft hiccup. Makkachin nuzzles Pocha softly until the little shudders stop.

Pocha looks up from where he’s been huddled against Yuuri’s chest and pats Makkachin softly on the head with his paw. He looks up at Victor and Yuuri and states, “Po,” and points towards the window. Victor stands up and looks out.

“I don’t see anything,” he says to Yuuri who is still snuggling Pocha against his chest. “Pocha, did you see something scary?”

Pocha shakes his head hard, the last few tears flying off his face. “Pocha, po,” he responds as emphatically as his little voice can. He points again to the window, more insistently this time.

Victor looks again, but it’s just the back alleyway behind their apartment building and some pigeons. He looks over at Yuuri and shrugs, confused about why their little guest is so upset.

“Do you want to go outside, Pocha?” Yuuri queries.

Pocha looks up and nods hard, clinging to Yuuri and patting Makkachin on the head. “Pocha!”

“Makkachin needs her morning walk anyway, and maybe we can solve this mystery,” Victor says as he walks over to get her lead. Makkachin bounds after him and Victor is relieved to notice she’s not limping as badly this morning. Yuuri gathers Pocha up in his arms carefully as he stands.

“Vitya? Do you think we can get one of those baby carriers when we run errands? I don’t think Pocha would like a lead and I don’t want him getting lost. He’s so small.”

Victor’s face lights up thinking of how cute Yuuri is going to be with Pochayuuri strapped to his chest. “Of course we can! That’s a great solution. In the meantime, let’s just carry him while we walk Makka.”

The group heads out to the elevator with Pocha mumbling small “Po’s” as he is cuddled against Yuuri’s chest. Victor and Yuuri exchange worried glances, but Makkachin simply snuffles his feet where they hang down a little. Once the group is outside, Makka heads for her tree and happily spends several minutes sniffing back and forth between it and the sign post before deciding that the tree is the better option this morning. Once she concludes her business, she starts pulling Victor towards that alley in back of their building. 

Pocha is peering anxiously out from Yuuri’s arms and as they start walking down the alley, he leans forward and nearly tumbles from his grasp. Yuuri gasps and scrambles to not drop him, but Pocha is wiggling and struggling so he finally bends down enough so that Pocha can stand. Pochayuuri looks up briefly before running as quickly as his little paws will take him down the alley to a pile of crumpled and wet cardboard. He starts tugging at the cardboard with his tiny paws, struggling to pull it away from the wall, a stream of “Po’s” falling from his mouth as he works. 

Yuuri and Victor hurry after him, Makka snuffling at the walls behind them. Suddenly she gives a loud boof and bounds next to Pocha, digging at the cardboard with her larger paws and tugging it away from the wall. Victor and Yuuri exchange a glance before Yuuri kneels down to help. His hands make quick work of it and he draws in a sharp breath when he sees the little figure that had been buried under the cardboard. “Vitya, run and get a towel and blanket,” he says over his shoulder already pulling off his sweater to wrap up the puppy-like figure he’s uncovered. Pocha is bouncing next to him, tugging on his sleeve and whining a little. Victor gives a quick nod and pulls Makka away before hurrying back into the building. He comes back in just a minute, having dropped her off in the apartment and grabbed the nearest blanket he can find.

When Victor drops back down by Yuuri, he sees that Yuuri has already wrapped the little gray-haired puppy in his sweater, so he drops the blanket around Yuuri’s shoulders to keep him warm. Pochayuuri is snuggling up against the new figure, soft “Po’s” and little whines sounding from him. Yuuri looks up at Victor and says, “He’s shivering hard. I think we just need to get him warmed up inside.”

Victor nods and reaches down to help pull Yuuri up from the ground. He then leans down and gathers Pochayuuri up as well. Yuuri has already started back towards the building, carrying their find carefully in his arms.

Once they make it back to the apartment, Yuuri carefully unwraps the puppy from his sweater and re-wraps him in the blanket. Pocha curls around the bundled up figure and runs his paws up and down the outside of the blanket. Victor sets the tea kettle on the stove as they learned last night that Pocha loves green tea and it seems like this new little one is the same kind of animal that Pocha is, at least from the little they’ve seen so far.

It takes a few minutes, but finally the shaking slows and the puppy’s eyes blink open. Victor bites back a gasp at the bright blue he sees. It’s a little like looking into a distorted mirror. Beside him Yuuri also gasps, “Vitya..”

“I know,” Victor responds, just a little shaken from seeing himself in puppy form. Was this what Yuuri felt last night when he’d walked into the apartment?

“He’s adorable!” Yuuri softly squeaks.

Pocha nuzzles into the other puppy’s face and the little one turns towards him. There is a startling flurry of activity as the gray-haired puppy struggles free from the blanket burrito to pounce on Pocha. A cacophony of “Pom!” and “Po!” fills the air of the apartment as the two puppies babble at each other. 

Victor clutches at Yuuri’s hand to keep himself from scooping the two adorable puppies up and cuddling the heck out of them. He’d be embarrassed, but Yuuri is clutching back and has his other hand over his mouth. Makka is beside them with her tail beating against the floor, her feet stamping in place as she holds herself back from joining the puppy pile on the couch.

Pocha looks up at the three and grabs the other puppy’s paw, tugging him towards the group. “Pocha po!” he exclaims, shoving the new puppy towards them.

The new puppy looks worried, but steps forward and puts out a paw clearly stating, “Pom.” Victor nearly squeals, but manages to hold it back as he reaches out a hand to again shake a little paw. This is turning out to be the best couple of days ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so I didn't mean to make the puppy cry! It just happened! But now he has his Pomvik and things will look up. I think one more chapter to show the new family soon.


End file.
